Regenerative furnace



i port for the'inner end of the burner.

Patented May 14, 1946 REGENERATIVE FURNACE kurt o. Gehring, Homewood,nl., and sebren T.

Puryear", Munster, Ind., assignors to Carnegie- Illinois-SteelCorporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 11,1943,Serial No. 472,032

3 claims. (ci. 263-44) The present invention relates to specificstructural features f improvement in open hearth regenerativefurnaces'of the type used in making orrefining steel. More particularly,the invention isdirected to a burner tunnel structure for prov tectingthe burner of an oil or gas-fired furnace.

Heretofore the means for protecting the burner tunnel has included astructural frame with a flat cooler tankseated on the top thereof,andside cooling tanks fastened thereto. In addition, in prior constructionsa series of cooling pipes are usually embedded in the brickwork at thenose of the tunnel and in both sides with a separate cooler tanksupporting the burner` at the inside end of the tunnel. 'I'hese priorartpractices are objectionable, first, because they necessitate the use ofa multiplicity of pipe connections which of necessity are madefin arelatively restricted area and therefore inaccessible, and cannot vbereadily maintained in proper operating condition. Moreover, in the oldpractice many special Abricks must be cut to fit over and around thecooling pipes embedded in the brickwork.

One object of the present invention is to provide a cooler tunnel whichcombines top and side cooling legs and presents a smooth exteriorsurface to the brickwork on three sides and at the rear of the burnertunnel. lThus our improved cooling tunnel simplifies the laying ofbricks, and exposes a relatively homogeneous mass of refractory materialto the gases at the outgoing port end of the furnace.. This contributesto longer life of the brickwork.

Another object of the invention is the elimination of many pipeconnections formerly required so as to conserve essential materials andto cut furnace.

the improved burnertunnel detached from the Figure Gis an elevation asviewed from the left A end of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a detail viewshowing the water circulation for the burnersupport of- Figure 4.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the lletters A and B represent thefront and back brickwork walls respectively of a conventional form ofopen hearth furnace having at each end a conventional end wall such asindicated at C, except that it is equipped with a built-in water-cooledtunnel of a novel design and arrangement hereinafter'more fully setforth in detail. The furnace is formed with the usual air uptakes D-Dwhich are connected by ports E-E leading to the combustion chamber F inthe usual manner, which chamber l communicates with the usual hearthzone of the furnace proper.

A burner G `is provided which supplies either liquid or gaseous fuel tothe combustion chamber F of the furnace. The fuel mixes in the usualmanner with air heated in conventional regenerdown initial installationand maintenance costs.

ators (not shown), and the air flows through the uptakes D in the portsE to the combustion chamber F. The burner G is connected with a suitablefuel supply by pipe H in any conventional manner.

A particular feature of the invention herein claimed 'relates to thestructural design and arrangement of a burner tunnel unit indicated as ainner and outer walls I' and 2, so as to provide an -end water box 6.

lowing disclosure when read in connection with-- Figure 5' is anenlarged longitudinal section .fot

for varying thedischarge point ofl said branches` Il and I2. Thefunction of pipes l and I0 is to discharge' cool' water near the ends of-the side waterlegs ofthe tunnel, where such water will rise and flowrearwardly, as indicated by the arstatic head in the distributing pipes9 and I0 and also to maintain an adequate supply of water near theoverflow point at an eiiective cooling temperature. At the lower outercorner of the water box yIi, outlet spuds I5 are provided which areadapted to be connected by ppesnot shown, to a Waste water-line. Theboxj is normally closed at the top by a detachable cover I6 which isadapted to permit of ready inspection of the water clrculation'in thecooling tunnel structure. Near the lower ends of the. side legs of thetunnel structure, Vplugged spuds I1 and I8 are provided which permit ofdraining the tankand 'cleaning i out any accumulated sludge or otherforeign matter from time to time.

The side water legs are equipped, near ltheir lower ends, with pipes I9and 20, adapted to be l connected with a suitable compressed air supplywhich is admitted periodically so as to create sunlcient turbulence inthe water to effect elimination of deposits from raw water. Thisprovides eilicient means for cleaning the tank without requiring theremoval of the tunnel structure from its normal location in the .portend of the furnace.

'I'he end water box 8 at the outer end of the tunnel structure, asclearly shown in Figure 5, is wider at the top than at the lower portionthereof, since the upper outermost end wall 2l is spaced a substantialdistance beyond the lower outer end wall 4. The upper extremity of thewall 4 extends a short distance beyond the horizontal wall 22 whichconnects wall 2I with wall 4, as shown, to thus form an interior bame.

Ears 23-23 are formed on the side walls of the water box 6, and thesecarry ttings or lifting.

rings 2I-2I adapted to be engaged with a crane Ahook so as to facilitateinitial installation of the tunnel or removal when repair or replacementbe comes necessary.

.The tunnelpassage is open to atmosphere at its outer end andsubstantially closed at its inner end by water-cooled member 25 of.invertedA to practice has demonstrated is very desirable and eicient inpractical metallurgical furnace operation, what we desire to secure byLetters Patent is deiined specically -in the following claims.

We claim: 1." In a metallurgical furnace, a protective tunnel structure-for a fuel burner comprising 4inner and outer spaced walls-connected'at the bottom by closure portions and at the top by archedporconnected together at the top by said arched portions, a wallconnected to the inner extremities of said inner and outer spaced wallsand closing the inner ends of said water legs, and an outer end waterbox communicating with said side water legs and located beyond the outerend face of the end wall of the furnace, the structure recited defininga tunnel passageway open to atmosphere at its outer end, and a burnerextending through said passageway and supported against drooping by awater-cooled member substantially closing the inner end of said tunnelpassageway.

2. In a metallurgical furnace. a protective tunnel structure for a fuelburner comprising inner and cuter spaced walls connected at the bottomby closure portions and at the top by arched portions so as to jointlydeiine an inverted U-shaped tunnel structure. having hollow side waterlegs connected together at the top by said arched portions, a wallconnected to the inner extremities of saidinner and outer spacedwallsand closing the inner ends of said water legs, an outer water boxcommunicating with said side water legs located beyond the outer end 'ofthe furnace, a burner housed between the water legs of said tun- Anelstructure, and an upright hollow water-cooled closure adjacent the innerextremity of the tunnel substantially closing the space between the sidewater legs and the arched portions thereof,

said closure having a seat portion-on which the' burner rests, thepassageway defined by the tunnel structure being open to atmosphere atits outer end.

3. Ina' metallurgical furnace, a protective tunnel structure for a fuelburner comprising inner and outer spaced walls connected at the bottomby closure portions and at the top by arched portions so as to jointlydefine an inverted U-shaped tunnel structure having hollow side waterlegs connected together at the top by said arched portions, a wallconnected to the inner extremities of said inner and outer spaced wallsand closing the inner ends of said water legs, an. outer waterboxcommunicating with said side water legs and located beyond the outer endof the furnace, a'

burner housed between the water legs of said tunnel structure, anupright hollow water-cooled tions so as to jointly denne an invertedU-shaped tunnel structln'e having` hollow side water less burner supportadjacent the inner extremity of the tunnel substantiallyclosing thespace between the side water legs and the arched portions of the tunnel,said burner support having spaced legs connected by an arched portionshaped to form a ledge on which the burner rests, and inlet and outletcoolant pipes connected with the legs of said clostn-e member, thepassageway denned by the tunnel structure being open to atmosphere atits outer end.

KURT C. GEHZRING.

BEBREN T. PURYEAR.

